On Mother’s Day, Thousands Join Actress and UNDP Goodwill Ambassador Connie Britton in Pledge to Stand Up for Families Suffering from Famine

May 14, 2017

Connie Britton teams up with Care2 and UNDP on a petition to raise support for families near starvation in parts of Africa and the Middle East

A new Care2 petition from actress and United Nations Development Programme Goodwill Ambassador Connie Britton is calling on people everywhere to show support for the millions of mothers and families on the brink of starvation due to widespread drought and conflict affecting northeast Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan and Yemen. More than 59,800 people have taken the pledge.

“I am so extremely grateful every day to be able to provide for my son,” Britton writes on her Care2 petition. “And this year, on Mother’s Day in particular, I am devastated to think about the plight of 20 million mothers and families around the world who are struggling to survive right now due to a looming famine in four countries across Africa and the Middle East — northeast Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan and Yemen.”

The United Nations has called the approaching famine the worst preventable humanitarian crisis since World War II. Close to one million acutely malnourished children need treatment this year, including 200,000 who are in need of immediate life-saving support. The severe situation is also forcing many people to flee their homes.

“In honor of Mother’s Day, I ask you to join me in showing our support for the millions of mothers and parents living on the brink of starvation,” Britton writes. “Struggling to feed their children. Losing hope.”